EDP will support nine projects which promote the access to renewable energy in remote and vulnerable communities of four African countries: Mozambique, Nigeria, Angola and Malawi. The company will finance these projects with a total of one million euros, through its program of social responsibility “Access to Energy” (A2E), that celebrates this year its fourth edition.

The selected projects will have a direct impact in primary fields, such as health, agriculture, education and access to drinkable water, involving more than a million direct and indirect beneficiaries.

The use of decentralized solar energy and of energy storage technologies is the core of all the projects, selected upon a total of 158 applications. Among these projects one may find, for example, a system of solar capsules which provide energy to maternity hospitals, as well as micro electric networks to supply clinical rooms, or solar systems for the agricultural production or the cold storage in the local markets.

EDP strengthens therefore its strategy in social impact, promoting the energy inclusion in the disadvantage regions. In Africa’s case, which represents around 70% of the global population without access to electricity, this support is another contribution in order to satisfy the necessities of decarbonization, climate action and energy access, which is, in fact, one of the items in COP27’s agenda, that is, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which is celebrated in Egypt till the 18th November.

“The access to electricity is crucial to ensure the security and the development of any community, and it is a subject of great impact in many communities that are remote or that may be in a more vulnerable situation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our commitment, now reinforced with the funding of nine more projects, is to keep aiding to ease this access to green, safe and low-cost energy in these communities, and promoting thus the energy inclusion”, states Vera Pinto Pereira, member of the Board of Executive Directors of EDP and responsible for the group’s global strategy of social impact.

“The positive impact that EDP aims to have, is measured with each and every life that we help to change with this project. Whether it is a kid that may now study at night at his place because he already has lightning, or a doctor or a nurse that has now emergency kits to assist in childbirth, or a salesperson who can keep the products fresh in the market for a longer time and therefore increase the household income”, adds Pinto Pereira.

One million people benefited

Nigeria, with four projects and Mozambique, with three, are yet again the countries with more selected offers in this fourth edition of EDP’s project “Access to Energy”. As for Nigeria, the chosen promoters are We Care Solar (energy for maternity hospitals), Konexa (electrification of clinical rooms and surrounding communities), Reeddi (solar capsules for families and small businesses) and Optimal Greening Foundation (project of drinkable water and sanitation).

In Mozambique, the selected entities were Asociación Educafrica (electrification of a school and community facilities in an island of fishermen), ADPP Mozambique (refrigeration system for the market exchange) and Fundación Energía sin Fronteras (electrification of a farm-orphanage). Cuerama Foundation, with a project of electrification of equipment to serve the community, is the promotor selected in Angola, and aQysta Malawi, with a system of agricultural processing powered by solar energy, is the project chosen in Malawi.

In this new edition of “Access to Energy”, EDP has doubled the income of the funding to one million euros. It gives thus continuity to the project introduced in 2018. In the three previous editions, the program has already contributed a total of 1.5 million euros to support 20 projects in seven African countries (Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania), that have helped improving the lives of 80 000 people and, indirectly, of more than a million people. A positive impact, which is reinforced in this new edition of the program, that estimates to be benefiting directly more than 40 000 people and indirectly more than 900 000 people in these territories.

This way, EDP strengthens its commitment with the planet’s sustainability, through renewable energies and through the fight against electrical exclusion, which still affects the life of millions of people, especially in rural remote communities in developing countries. The support of these projects is, therefore, a key contribution to ensure a more sustainable, inclusive and fair future.

All the projects, one by one:

NIGERIA

• We Care Solar

In a country with one of the highest mortality rates in the world because of maternity (19%), in which everyday around 300 000 women and a million of newborns die due to complications both during the pregnancy and the labor, according to OMS’ data, the system of neonatal health care of Nigeria is one of the worst in the world.  We Care Solar thinks that energy could save lives. Its plan is to provide green energy to 60 primary health centers with delivery rooms equipped with solar “suitcases”, which ensure the lightning and the operation of the emergency medical equipment, a solution that could help saving 32 000 mothers and babies each year.

• Konexa Electricity

The electrical network of the state of Kaduna has a limited rural coverage, is not stable and only provides an average of 3-4 hours of electricity a day in the electrified areas. The agricultural communities, located kilometers away from the network, do not have a reliable access to electricity, which obliges the healthcare professionals to work with three candles at night, and the families must rely on coal and wood in their households. With its project, Konexa intends to electrify five centers of primary education and 375 households in the surrounding communities. That way, more than 2 250 people (among whom, 930 kids) will start using green energy, reducing their exposure to toxic fumes and improving the healthcare services.

• Reeddi

The access to electricity is essential for a social and economic development of the communities of Sub-Saharan Africa. In this case is Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa, where 70 million people do not have access to energy, and more than 50 million, despite being connected to the network, do not receive more than four hours of electricity a day. Reeddi found a solution, distributing capsules – a kind of small portable batteries – to 400 households and small businesses of four communities. This green, affordable and reliable energy solution does not only reduce the electricity bill in more than 30%, but also allows to increase the incomes of more than 70 small local companies.

• Optimal Greening Foundation

More than 58 million people of urban areas of Nigeria live without basic sanitation, above all in Lagos, where only 10% of the population has access to clean piped water. Precisely in this city, is where the foundation now develops a project of sanitation and access to drinkable water in the insular community (AGALA), 30 minutes away from Lagos by boat. With 221 households (around 1100 people), this community will benefit from the establishment of a system of water treatment and other equipment supplied by solar energy. The goal is to empower the members of the community through the creation of at least 25 job positions for young people and women, who will receive a training to operate, manage and secure the facilities after the execution of the project.

MOZAMBIQUE

• Asociación Educafrica

In Mbenquelene’s island, 160 live isolated and without electricity, with just one boat of transport available. In this community, which lives from fishing and agriculture, 80 kids learn under hoses, and teachers are often absent, because they do not have a place to live during the school year. Educafrica wants to change this, providing green energy to the new facilities of the school, as well as to the house of the teachers that they have already started building, which will allow students to improve their education, and teachers to have respectable life conditions, with lightning in their households, a water pump or a fridge. Furthermore, the population will be provided a boat with an electric motor, which will allow them to transport people and merchandises faster and more easily.

• ADPP Moçambique

The fishing activity in the region of Cahora Bassa has an important social impact for more than 10 300 people, as it contributes to the food safety, to the employment and to the familiar income. Nevertheless, fishers have a limited access to specialized equipment and to the market, and they are not ready to take part in the administration models. Moreover, the number of facilities in the markets is restricted and the volume of sales is very low. How to change this? The first step is to provide the fishermen with refrigeration and freezing machines, supplied by solar energy. The project will also provide an energy solar system and an equipment to a fish market. This change promotes a new entrepreneurial mindset among the fishermen and intends helping to increase their incomes, as well as their resistance to the impact of climate change.

• Energía sin Fronteras Foundation

As manager of 500 hectares of agricultural land, Casa do Gaiato provides a food source of vegetables (corn, potatoes, onions, garlic, tomato, pepper, collard greens…) and meat (chicken, pig, calf, etc.) to the kids and youngster of the farm, as well as to the other 165 women and their families that live in the nearby of the farm known as la Fazenda. In order to reduce the high costs of electricity and the failings of energetic supply, and to stop the use of polluting fuels, such as diesel oil, a photovoltaic solar system will be installed in the agricultural area of this orphanage, plus a storage system. This will also be made in the school, that will now have a sustainable and reliable energetic supply for an affordable price.

ANGOLA

• Cuerama Foundation

In the heart of the province of Kwanza Sul, the community of Cuerama suffers from isolation, as well as from the lack of roads to close villages and of a telecommunications network. Reversing this scenery has become a priority for the Cuerama Foundation since 2015. In order to provide a better service, the community will supply the facilities with green energy, like the medical center (for the refrigeration of vaccines, diagnostic equipment), the primary school and the school canteen (food preservation), among other interventions. Around 5 000 people will be benefiting from this project, which will also improve the possibility of working with machines and electric equipment in carpentry, needlework, basketmaking, pottery, agriculture and handmade production of soap.

MALAWI

• aQysta Malawi

The agricultural annual incomes of the 15 million people in Malawi (80% of the total population), who depend in fact on the agriculture for their survival, are extremely low. With limited harvest during the year and fighting to obtain fresh products to take them quickly to the markets, these farmers find themselves obliged to accept the low prices that they are offered, as their financial situation keeps being extremely fragile. With this project that uses solar energy in the agricultural stage prior to harvest, about 1 000 farmers will have access to technologies of preservation and processing, supplied by renewable energy, and will receive a training in good agricultural practices, in order to satisfy the demands of the consumers. This could mean an income increase by 200%, but also an important step to solve other problems, such as the feeding of kids in Malawi; for example, one of the processed crops are peanuts, used by an organization associated with treatments for kids with undernourishment problems.